Kane County will flip switch on new solar field Oct. 20

ST. CHARLES TOWNSHIP – Kane County officials will flip the switch on its new 10-acre solar field in a public ceremony at 10 a.m. Oct. 20, on the campus of the Kane County Judicial Center, 37W777 Route 38, St. Charles Township, according to a news release.

Due to rain, the event was rescheduled from Oct. 13, officials announced this week.

The switch is six feet tall and will turn on more than 6,000 solar panels.

The 2-megawatt solar field contains more than 6,000 solar panels at the corner of Peck and Bricher roads behind the main courthouse, and is part of Kane County’s Green Initiative program. It will provide 47% of the Judicial Center and jail’s energy usage, a savings of $5 million or $200,000 per year over 25 years, officials said.

In 2021, the County Board approved the solar field project, which could generate over 4.1 million kilowatt hours.

A kilowatt hour, kWh, is a unit of energy equal to one kilowatt of power sustained for one hour and is commonly used as a billing unit by utilities.

The county will lease the solar field to GRNE Solar of Palatine, which owns and will operate it the solar field. The county had no up-front costs and will buy power from GRNE at a reduced rate, according to a news release that announced the project.

Board Chair Corinne Pierog said in an email that the “new solar field marks another milestone in our commitment to reducing Kane County’s carbon footprint.”

“The benefits to the environment and the reduction in what the county pays for energy are real,” according to Pierog’s email. “We are excited to continue our efforts to create a more sustainable environment for future generations of Kane county families while protecting our environment and saving taxpayers’ money by reducing the county’s energy costs.”